One of the highlights of Dodgertown fantasy baseball camps is the game at Holman Stadium where the Dodgers of the past play two innings each with eight camper teams in front of a crowd of autograph seeking fans from Vero Beach and the families of campers.
The biggest applause of the game didn’t come from any great defensive play or home run. It was the introduction for the last Boys Of Summer at this last fantasy camp – Duke Snider, Carl Erskine and Ralph Branca.
While pitcher Jerry Reuss took the mound for the Dodgers, with Maury Wills backing him up at second base and Tommy Davis at first, the Duke, Carl and Ralph sat in golf carts by the stands graciously signing autographs and talking with old Brooklyn Dodger fans who had come to see them.
“They were the best fans in the world at Ebbets Field 60 years ago and they still are,” said Erskine, 81 . “They were there for us in Brooklyn and they’re still here for us at this last camp in Vero.
For the record, the campers were leading by a couple of runs heading into the third.